Art on the Hill

Today we explore the Saint Louis Art Museum located at the beautiful Forest Park in St. Louis Missouri. The museum sits atop the aptly named Art hill and is the literal and figurative highpoint of this fantastic city park.

Originally opened to commemorate the 1904 World’s Fair, the neo=classical three-story building was based on the Caracalla baths in Rome. While somewhat smaller than some of the other Art museums I have visited recently, the gallery makes up for being diminutive by offering one of the most comprehensive collections you will see anywhere. Nothing is left out, from Greco-Roman to Impressionistic to Indigenous art, antiquity to modern, all of it can be found here.

Guarded by an impressive statue of King Louis IX of France, (St. Louis) Art hill was one of the central points in the World’s Fair and commands a vantage point overlooking much of the city. A man-made lake with fountains sits at the hill’s bottom. Architect Cass Gilbert who designed this Beaux Arts Building also designed New York City’s Woolworth Building and the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington D.C. Six of the Nine Muses look down on their patrons from the balcony above.

Visiting an Art Museum can be overwhelming for many, so much to see and each exhibit if it speaks to you, can absorb a lot of time and attention. When I plan to take pictures, I try to follow a simple rule, just take pictures of the work that resonates with me at the time of my visit. So here are just some of the many exhibits featured at the gallery.

Sculpture Art

Paintings

The St Louis Art Museum also has an extensive collection of Indigenous Art including Native American, Pre-Columbian, African, and Oceanic. Forest Park which holds the museum also has the St Louis Zoo, The Missouri History Museum, the Science Center and the 1904 World’s Fair Pavillion all of which are free to visit. There is also the Jewel Box Botanical garden (which only charges a one dollar admission). It would be very easy to spend a day or two just exploring all the wonderful free and nearly free sights of this amazing city park. We will also be covering some of these other sights in future posts here at Globetrotting Grandpa. Thanks for coming along with me. Yours truly, GG